THIS time there was no Didier Drogba to rescue Chelsea. Instead it was Fernando Torres – and the £50million striker flopped once again.

Rewind seven months and the Blues are 1-0 down in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena, with the German team’s supporters roaring them home. In the 88th minute Drogba came up trumps with a bullet header.

In Yokohama yesterday, Chelsea supporters were vastly outnumbered once more and found their team 1-0 down following a 69th-minute goal from Paolo Guerrero.

The golden opportunity to send this Club World Cup final into extra time and possibly another penalty shootout victory, came slightly earlier this time, in the 86th minute.

Following a long throw from Cesar Azpilicueta, and a handy deflection, the ball landed at Torres’ feet, eight yards out. But the Spaniard hit his shot almost straight at the excellent Cassio and the keeper was able to save with ease.

You have to wonder what Drogba, who was allowed to leave last summer, must have been thinking as he watched the match.

Yes, Torres had scored five goals in his previous three matches, against far inferior opposition in the shape of Nordsjaelland, Sunderland and Monterrey.

But against the big boys from Brazil, he could not deliver and the same old questions will come up about whether he is the centreforward to lead Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea in the new year and beyond.

Even Rafa Benitez, his biggest supporter and the coach who turned the 28-year-old into such a hot property at Liverpool, could not hide his disappointment. And then, for the first time, he had a bit of a dig at the player who also poked a tame shot at Cassio in the first half, and failed to make any sort of serious contact with his head with another chance in the second.

Benitez said: “I agree that Fernando has to take these chances in a final because it’s not easy to create too many. If you have two or three, you have to score.”

Torres was a bit unlucky in stoppage-time, flicking a header over the onrushing Cassio, though he was just offside.

Gary Cahill, sent off in the 90th minute for kicking out at Emerson after the pair tussled, was also unfortunate in the 11th minute.

From Juan Mata’s corner, his header was blocked on the line by Chicao and the ball rebounded back to the centre-back.

He shot, but somehow the ball was kept from going over the line by Cassio sitting on it.

It left Cahill with his hands on his head in disbelief, similar to how he reacted to his dismissal at the death. In the 38th minute Frank Lampard produced a wonderful chipped through-ball for Torres. Although his control was that of a £50m striker, his finish was more like 50p as he stroked the ball tamely to Cassio, who then conjured up a magnificent one-handed save a minute later to tip away a right-foot curler from Victor Moses that was bending in at the far post.

I agree that Fernando has to take these chances in a final

Chelsea boss Rafa Benitez

That save drew gasps of appreciation from the Corinthians fans when it was replayed soon after.

Corinthians went ahead after Chelsea midfield target Paulinho cut across goal from right to left and rolled the ball to Danilo.

Cahill blocked his shot, but it looped up perfectly for Guerrero to nod home off the underside of the bar, after keeper Petr Cech had rushed off his line.

Out of the Champions League already, the Brazilians in the Chelsea team, Oscar, Ramires and David Luiz were devastated at the final whistle. This competition means plenty in their homeland.

A tearful Ramires had to be consoled by Chelsea’s glamorous doctor Eva Carneiro, while Luiz admitted he broke down too. “You can cry one night,” he said.

“Tomorrow is another day.”

Benitez now needs to pick up his men for the tricky trip to Leeds in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday. Lose that and he might find out sooner rather than later what 10 other managers have discovered under Abramovich – that it always ends in tears.